Tapestry of Faith: Amazing Grace: A Program about Exploring Right and Wrong for Grade 6

Introduction

Part of Amazing Grace

Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Session 11 explores the role of rules in people's lives, sixth-graders' as well as others. The session is the third of four sessions based on the theme of spiritual development.

At first glance, rules seem a simple matter. Obey them and be virtuous, disobey them and be sinful. What happens when rules bump into each other, as they so often do? That is when matters get murky, as your youth have undoubtedly found, and that is one of Session 11's subjects.

The session begins with a spiritual moment based in art depicting Moses and the Ten Commandments. Youth respond by creating their own commandments for an alien who enters their lives with no clue about how to act. The central story concerns a monk faced with conflicting rules. In Ethics Play, participants consider the rules that help them resolve daily situations. Faith in Action asks them to identify and work either against bad rules or for good ones.

Goals

This session will:

  • Explore the nature and variety of rules in participants' lives
  • Continue the exploration of religious rules begun in Session 4
  • Present a story in which rules conflict.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • Consider the nature and impact of spiritual art
  • Become acquainted with the Ten Commandments
  • Identify unwritten rules in their lives
  • Consider a story in which rules conflict
  • Optional: Explore ways to change rules.